


Question of leadership

by Bl4ckHunter



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Episode: s03e13 Canaries, Not for fans of Team Arrow, Other, Past Oliver Queen/Laurel Lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:15:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24170422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bl4ckHunter/pseuds/Bl4ckHunter
Summary: One-shot story. After Laurel gets injected with Vertigo, Oliver gives Team Arrow a reality check.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 15





	Question of leadership

**Author's Note:**

> I've been going through my older stories and this is partly inspired by Phillipe363's story "Regaining control of Team Arrow" and Stand with Ward and Queen's now deleted story "A love that never dies"
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.

"Need an IV!" Oliver ordered, bringing Laurel in, bridal style after she had been injected with Vertigo.

Diggle, Felicity and Roy prepared the IV as Oliver put Laurel on the table, while she was spasming and hallucinating Sara in Felicity's place.

"Why did I have to die?"

"Sara… I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…"

"Ollie?" Thea called out from behind as he turned around. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to… talk…"

"You need to go back upstairs." Oliver pleaded. "Now!"

"Hey!" Roy intervened. "Don't talk to her like that, you brought her in, you don't have the right to kick her out."

"I'm not, I'm protecting her." Oliver protested.

"By telling her what to do?" Roy scoffed. "Working with Malcolm Merlyn, letting him get his hooks deeper—"

"Enough. She's my sister—" Oliver tried.

"She makes her own choices, Oliver!" Roy snapped.

"It's OK, I… we can talk later." Thea tried to diffuse the situation before noticing Laurel on the table. "I just… is Laurel OK? Is she a part of this too?"

Oliver turned to Thea, assuring her. "She's gonna be fine. I promise, just, please, go back upstairs."

Thea nodded and left as Oliver whirled on Roy. "What the hell was that?"

"You think you're the only person, who can stand up for Thea?" Roy demanded.

"I'm trying to understand why you're standing up to me!" Oliver snarled.

"All right, maybe we just need to throttle back." Diggle said, trying to play peacemaker.

"No. We need this. Oliver, you were gone. Dead. Or at least we thought you were and we had to go on with our lives and doing that meant not doing things your way." Felicity said.

"Fine! I'm back now." Oliver said.

"That doesn't mean that we can go back. And you do not have the right to come here and question everyone's choices." Felicity argued.

"Does that kind of hypocrisy come with practice or is it in your nature, Felicity?" Oliver said, running out of patience.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Felicity demanded.

"I know everything that had gone down here, when I was gone. After my duel with Ra's, you left and it took the Glades falling apart for you to return, since John, Roy and Laurel desperately needed you, since you thought that this team could not do this without me. And what had gone down in the Glades is in part your fault as well, so if anyone has no right to question anyone's choices, it's you." Oliver said.

"That's different!" Felicity exploded. "I was trying to make sure no one else would die! You are working with—"

"Malcolm Merlyn! Yes! The Malcolm Merlyn who killed my father, Tommy, Sara and hundreds of innocent people! The Malcolm Merlyn, who made my mother's life living hell for over five years and abducted Walter! The Malcolm Merlyn, who sentenced me to five years to hell!" Oliver exploded back. "It's the League of Assassins, Felicity! And Malcolm knows them better than anyone else! If you think there's a different way, tell me, what other cards do we have in our hand? You have any better suggestions, I'm all ears!"

Felicity opened and closed her mouth several times as Oliver scoffed. "That's exactly what I thought. If there had been any other way than working with Malcolm to stop Ra's from coming after us all, I would have taken it in a heartbeat. You guys decided to have a democracy in this team but it doesn't work, if you second-guess every decision your leader makes! Besides, I didn't just up and leave, so don't think I was any better than you were over the past month."

Oliver lifted his hood and showed them all a fresh scar on his chest, apparently from the sword as everyone stared in shock.

"Is that…" Roy whispered as Oliver nodded, glancing towards him before once more turning to Felicity, who was stunned and lost for words.

"When I went to duel Ra's, he did this to me. And kicked me off the cliff. I would have died, if old friends of mine had not saved my life. But you don't see me use that as an excuse to question any of your decisions, do you?" Oliver sneered and Felicity felt like if she had been gut-punched. Everyone stared in silence as Oliver glared to Felicity. "If there was any other way to defeat Ra's, I would take it in a heartbeat. So, don't go questioning my calls, if you can't think of any better solutions."

There was a deathly silence before Oliver continued. "Take care of Laurel and then let me know how is she. Then Roy and I will find Zytle. _Without_ Laurel. Considering what just happened, you should not have let her go out in the first place. Tell me, how many times before this has she almost gotten herself killed? And what were you thinking, fooling Lance into thinking that Laurel is Sara?"

Roy, Diggle and Felicity winced as Oliver gave them one last glare of disgust left, while they continued to tend to Laurel.

**Author's Note:**

> After Oliver returned from his duel with Ra's, the whole Team Arrow turned into a bunch of arrogant egoistic idiots, asides from Roy. I mean, it did annoy me that Roy fought with Oliver about regarding Thea in, and I could get Oliver wanting to kick Thea out of the basement to protect her as an older sibling but in hindsight, Roy was right that Oliver should not baby Thea that much.
> 
> But Felicity and Laurel were complete idiots in here. I mean, few boxing lessons with Ted Grant and sparring sessions with Nyssa does not make Laurel as good as Sara and in comparion to Black Siren, Dinah Drake and Sara, skillwise, Laurel is the weakest and her journey as Black Canary was sloppy and lazily written and while I like her character, honestly, not really a fan of her as Black Canary, at least not how it was handled in the show. And Felicity, well, everything I needed to say, has been said already. Despite that Diggle had become an Olicity counselor at this point, he was still fine until when Oliver kidnapped Lyla, then I just wanted to punch him.
> 
> Plus, them fooling Quentin into thinking that the Black Canary is Sara, is disgusting beyond words.
> 
> So, what do you guys think?
> 
> Please review and let me know if you have enjoyed this one-shot.
> 
> With regards
> 
> Bl4ckHunter


End file.
